Legislature OKs $709M County Budget, But Leaves Fate of County Nursing Home Unresolved

In an emotional four-hour discussion on the fate of Rockland's finances, the County Legislature Tuesday night approved a $709M county budget that calls for a 2 percent tax hike and leaves unresolved a plan by County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef to close an $18M budget gap by turning over the county-run hospital and nursing home to a new non-profit corporation.

Legislature members said they didn't have enough time or information to make a firm decision on Vanderhoef's plan for the future of Summit Park Hospital and Nursing Center and its 700 county employees. By neither endorsing the plan nor rejecting, lawmakers said they now want Vanderhoef to come back to them with more information and to continue discussions on the proposal.

If the plan for Summit Park - which also requires approval of a new public benefit corporation by the state Legislature - does not move forward by early 2011 the county then would still face the problem of coming up with $18M for the county budget to make up revenues expected from the plan. Estimates were that a 30 percent increase in the county's portion of the local property tax bill would be required — or significant layoffs in county government — to close the budget gap without the Summit Park plan.

Vanderhoef's original budget proposal submitted in October totalled about $711M, with a 3.9 tax hike. Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Ramapo, who is head of the county's Budget and Finance Committee, said the Legislature trimmed Vanderhoef's plan by eliminating 25 jobs from the budget.

Schoenberger said 24 of the jobs are vacant positions throughout county government that were budgeted to be filled, and the remaining job was a new deputy personnel director position that was slated to be created in the budget.

The Legislature did not change plans to make 3 percent funding cuts to local community organizations that provide services to the public. However, the Legislature restored some funds for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Thiells, which was slated for a 15 percent funding cut but will now only receive a 3 percent cut.

The budget plan was approved in a 12-5 vote, with Legislators Ed Day, Connie Coker, Frank Sparaco, Douglas Jobson and Joseph Meyers voting against the budget.

During discussions that went to almost midnight, Legislators rejected proposals made Tuesday night to change the county's tourism, human rights and youth programs. The Legislature turned down plans to hand tourism functions over to the Rockland Economic Development Corporation, to cut the staff of the Human Rights Commission and eliminate a summer youth employment project.